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Electric and magnetic Fayet-Ilioupulous (FI) terms are used to engineer partial breaking of ${\mathcal{N}=2}$ global supersymmetry for systems of vector multiplets. The magnetic FI term induces a deformation of the off-shell field transformations associated with an imaginary constant shift of the triplet of auxiliary fields of the vector multiplet. In this paper, we elaborate on the deformation of off-shell vector multiplets in supergravity, both in components and superspace. In a superconformal framework, the deformations are associated with (composite) linear multiplets. We engineer an off-shell model that exhibits partial local supersymmetry breaking with a zero cosmological constant. This is based on the hyper-dilaton Weyl multiplet introduced in arXiv:2203.12203, coupled to the SU(1,1)/U(1) special-K\"ahler sigma model in a symplectic frame admitting a holomorphic prepotential, with one compensating and one physical vector multiplet, the latter magnetically deformed., Comment: 77 pages (paper) + 14 pages (supplementary file)

We study ${T\overline{T}}$-like deformations of $d>2$ Yang-Mills theories. The standard ${T\overline{T}}$ flows lead to multi-trace Lagrangians, and the non-Abelian gauge structures make it challenging to find Lagrangians in a closed form. However, within the geometric approach to ${T\overline{T}}$, we obtain the closed-form solution to the metric flow and stress-energy tensor, and show that instanton solutions are undeformed. We also introduce new symmetrised single-trace ${T\overline{T}}$-like deformations, whose solutions in $d=4$ include the non-Abelian Born-Infeld Lagrangian proposed by Tseytlin in 1997., Comment: 9 pages

We generalize the auxiliary field deformations of the principal chiral model (PCM) introduced in arXiv:2405.05899 and arXiv:2407.16338 to sigma models whose target manifolds are symmetric or semi-symmetric spaces, including a Wess-Zumino term in the latter case. This gives rise to a new infinite family of classically integrable $\mathbb{Z}_2$ and $\mathbb{Z}_4$ coset models of the form which are of interest in applications of integrability to worldsheet string theory and holography. We demonstrate that every theory in this infinite class admits a zero-curvature representation for its equations of motion by exhibiting a Lax connection., Comment: 52 pages; v2: reference updated

We combine the Yang-Baxter (YB) and bi-Yang-Baxter (bi-YB) deformations with higher-spin auxiliary field deformations to construct multi-parameter families of integrable deformations of the principal chiral model on a Lie group $G$ with semi-simple Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$. In the YB case, our construction produces one integrable deformation for each pair $(\mathcal{R}, E)$, where $\mathcal{R}$ is an antisymmetric bilinear operator on $\mathfrak{g}$ obeying the modified classical Yang-Baxter equation and $E$ is a function of several variables. In the bi-YB case, the pair becomes a triplet $(\mathcal{R},\tilde{\mathcal{R}}, E)$, where $\tilde{\mathcal{R}}$ is another antisymmetric bilinear operator on $\mathfrak{g}$ and obeys the non-split inhomogeneous modified classical Yang-Baxter equation. We show that every model in these families is (weakly) classically integrable by exhibiting a Lax representation for their equations of motion., Comment: 47 pages; v2: extended results of v1 to include bi-Yang-Baxter deformations

We construct a new infinite family of integrable deformations of the principal chiral model (PCM) parameterized by an interaction function of several variables, which extends the formalism of arXiv:2405.05899, and includes deformations of the PCM by functions of both the stress tensor and higher-spin conserved currents. We show in detail that every model in this class admits a Lax representation for its equations of motion, and that the Poisson bracket of the Lax connection takes the Maillet form, establishing the existence of an infinite set of Poisson-commuting conserved charges. We argue that the non-Abelian T-dual of any model in this family is classically integrable, and that T-duality "commutes" with a general deformation in this class, in a sense which we make precise. Finally, we demonstrate that these higher-spin auxiliary field deformations can be extended to accommodate the addition of a Wess-Zumino term, and we exhibit the Lax connection in this case., Comment: 113 pages

We initiate the study of the interplay between T-duality and classical stress tensor deformations in two-dimensional sigma models. We first show that a general Abelian T-duality commutes with the $T \overline{T}$ deformation, which can be engineered by a gravitational dressing. Then, by using an auxiliary field formulation of stress tensor deformations of the principal chiral model (PCM), we prove that non-Abelian T-duality and arbitrary $T \overline{T}$-like flows also commute for theories in this class. We argue that all such auxiliary field deformations of both the PCM and its T-dual are classically integrable., Comment: 7 pages

Using an interplay between superspace and component superconformal tensor calculus techniques, recently, the off-shell construction of the supersymmetric extension of the three independent curvature-squared invariants for minimal (N = 1) gauged supergravity in five dimensions (5D) was completed. A key ingredient in obtaining these results is the implementation of computer algebra algorithms. In this report, we describe how to use cadabra to systematically study component reduction from superspace with computer algebra in the case of 5D, N = 1 supergravity., Comment: 22 pages; contribution to the proceedings of the MATRIX program "New Deformations of Quantum Field and Gravity Theories", 22 Jan - 2 Feb 2024

We study interacting theories of $N$ left-moving and $\overline{N}$ right-moving Floreanini-Jackiw bosons in two dimensions. A parameterized family of such theories is shown to enjoy (non-manifest) Lorentz invariance if and only if its Lagrangian obeys a flow equation driven by a function of the energy-momentum tensor. We discuss the canonical quantization of such theories along classical stress tensor flows, focusing on the case of the root-$T \overline{T}$ deformation, where we obtain perturbative results for the deformed spectrum in a certain large-momentum limit. In the special case $N = \overline{N}$, we consider the quantum effective action for the root-$T \overline{T}$-deformed theory by expanding around a general classical background, and we find that the one-loop contribution vanishes for backgrounds with constant scalar gradients. Our analysis can also be interpreted via dual $U(1)$ Chern-Simons theories in three dimensions, which might be used to describe deformations of charged $\mathrm{AdS}_3$ black holes or quantum Hall systems., Comment: 108 pages, LaTeX; v3: references added, version accepted for publication in PRD

We compute the conformal anomalies for 6d (2,0) conformal supergravity by direct calculation in component fields. The main novel results consist of the type-B anomaly coefficients for the gravitino and the 3-form, as well as their explicit quadratic action on some specific backgrounds. We also comment on the graviton contribution, whose Lagrangian is essentially given by the $\mathscr Q$-curvature. We confirm the expectation that, when coupling (2,0) conformal supergravity to 26 copies of the (2,0) tensor multiplet, the resulting theory is free of conformal anomalies. We also consider the conformal anomalies for its (1,0) truncation and confirm their relation with the chiral anomaly polynomial recently derived. For calculating the anomalies, we work with an Einstein on-shell background and make a factorised Ansatz for the operators governing the quadratic fluctuations. This reduces the calculation to evaluating heat-kernel coefficients of standard 2-derivative operators. We fix and check the Ansatz against the explicit evaluation of the component-field supergravity action in some cases., Comment: 51 pages

In this paper we initiate the study of six-dimensional non-linear chiral two-form gauge theories as deformations of free chiral two-form gauge theories driven by stress-tensor $T\overline T$-like flows. To lay the background for this study, we elaborate on the relationship between different Lagrangian formulations of duality-invariant p-form theories and corresponding $T\overline T$-like flows in various dimensions. To this end we propose a new formulation which (i) is a generalization of the four-dimensional construction by Ivanov, Nurmagambetov and Zupnik (INZ) and (ii) turns into the PST formulation upon integrating out an auxiliary self-dual field. We elucidate space-time covariant properties of the PST formulation by clarifying and making use of its relation to the INZ-type formulation and to a so-called ``clone" construction., Comment: 82 pages (with Appendices and References), V2: clarifications and references added, typos corrected

We study Hawking radiation and wave scattering of charged scalar fields in a charged $C$-metric black hole background. The conformally invariant wave equation for charged scalar fields can be separated into radial and angular parts, each with five singularities. We show that the radial and angular equations can be respectively transformed into the general Heun equation. We explore exact solutions of the radial Heun equation in terms of the local Heun functions and connection coefficients. Exact behaviours of the asymptotic wave functions are determined without approximations. We apply the exact results to derive Hawking radiation, quasi-normal modes and superradiance. Since quasinormal modes are significant for black holes through gravitional waves, we present the numeric results for quasinormal modes, and show the dependence upon the $C$-metric parameters and the charge of scalar fields. The analytic expressions of the solutions allow us to make fast numerical calculations of high precision without restrictions on the model parameters., Comment: 33 pages

We present for the first time the component structure of the supersymmetric completions for all curvature-squared invariants of five-dimensional, off-shell (gauged) minimal supergravity, including all fermions. This is achieved by using an interplay between superspace and superconformal tensor calculus techniques, and by employing results from arXiv:1410.8682 and arXiv:2302.14295. Our analysis is based on using a standard Weyl multiplet of conformal supergravity coupled to a vector and a linear multiplet compensator to engineer off-shell Poincar\'e supergravity. We compute all the descendants of the composite linear multiplets that describe gauged supergravity together with the three independent four-derivative invariants. These are the building blocks of the locally superconformal invariant actions. A derivation of the primary equations of motion for minimal gauged off-shell supergravity deformed by an arbitrary combination of these three locally superconformal invariants, is then provided. Finally, all the covariant descendants in the multiplets of equations of motion are obtained by applying a series of $Q$-supersymmetry transformations, equivalent to successively applying superspace spinor derivatives to the primary equations of motion., Comment: 99 pages of manuscript + 228 pages of supplementary file

We present a complete basis to study gauged curvature-squared supergravity in five dimensions. We replace the conventional ungauged Riemann-squared action with a new Log-invariant, offering a comprehensive framework for all gauged curvature-squared supergravities. Our findings address long-standing challenges and have implications for precision tests in the AdS/CFT correspondence., Comment: 5+1 pages; v2: two references added, minor typos and comments corrected

Given a model for self-dual non-linear electrodynamics in four spacetime dimensions, any deformation of this theory which is constructed from the duality-invariant energy-momentum tensor preserves duality invariance. In this work we present new proofs of this known result, and also establish a previously unknown converse: any parameterized family of duality-invariant Lagrangians, all constructed from an Abelian field strength $F_{\mu \nu}$ but not its derivatives, is related by a generalized stress tensor flow, in a sense which we make precise. We establish this and other properties of stress tensor deformations of theories of non-linear electrodynamics using both a conventional Lagrangian representation and using two auxiliary field formulations. We analyze these flows in several examples of duality-invariant models including the Born-Infeld and ModMax theories, and we derive a new auxiliary field representation for the two-parameter family of ModMax-Born-Infeld theories. These results suggest that the space of duality-invariant theories may be characterized as a subspace of theories of electrodynamics with the property that all tangent vectors to this subspace are operators constructed from the stress tensor., Comment: v3: published version

We elaborate on the off-shell superspace construction of curvature-squared invariants in minimal five-dimensional supergravity. This is described by the standard Weyl multiplet of conformal supergravity coupled to two compensators being a vector multiplet and a linear multiplet. In this set-up, we review the definition of the off-shell two-derivative gauged supergravity together with the three independent four-derivative superspace invariants defined in arXiv:1410.8682. We provide the explicit expression for the linear multiplet based on a prepotential given by the logarithm of the vector multiplet primary superfield. We then present for the first time the primary equations of motion for minimal gauged off-shell supergravity deformed by an arbitrary combination of these three four-derivative locally superconformal invariants. We also identify a four-derivative invariant based on the linear multiplet compensator and the kinetic superfield of a vector multiplet which can be used to engineer an alternative supersymmetric completion of the scalar curvature squared., Comment: 35 pages. v2: minor corrections, typos corrected

We show that the $3d$ Born-Infeld theory can be generated via an irrelevant deformation of the free Maxwell theory. The deforming operator is constructed from the energy-momentum tensor and includes a novel non-analytic contribution that resembles root-$T \overline{T}$. We find that a similar operator deforms a free scalar into the scalar sector of the Dirac-Born-Infeld action, which describes transverse fluctuations of a D-brane, in any dimension. We also analyse trace flow equations and obtain flows for subtracted models driven by a relevant operator. In $3d$, the irrelevant deformation can be made manifestly supersymmetric by presenting the flow equation in $\mathcal{N} = 1$ superspace, where the deforming operator is built from supercurrents. We demonstrate that two supersymmetric presentations of the D2-brane effective action, the Maxwell-Goldstone multiplet and the tensor-Goldstone multiplet, satisfy superspace flow equations driven by this supercurrent combination. To do this, we derive expressions for the supercurrents in general classes of vector and tensor/scalar models by directly solving the superspace conservation equations and also by coupling to $\mathcal{N} = 1$ supergravity. As both of these multiplets exhibit a second, spontaneously broken supersymmetry, this analysis provides further evidence for a connection between current-squared deformations and nonlinearly realized symmetries., Comment: 68 pages; LaTeX; v4: references and comments added

We identify the unique stress tensor deformation which preserves zero-birefringence conditions in non-linear electrodynamics, which is a $4d$ version of the ${T\overline{T}}$ operator. We study the flows driven by this operator in the three Lagrangian theories without birefringence -- Born-Infeld, Plebanski, and reverse Born-Infeld -- all of which admit ModMax-like generalizations using a root-${T\overline{T}}$-like flow that we analyse in our paper. We demonstrate one way of making this root-${T\overline{T}}$-like flow manifestly supersymmetric by writing the deforming operator in $\mathcal{N} = 1$ superspace and exhibit two examples of superspace flows. We present scalar analogues in $d = 2$ with similar properties as these theories of electrodynamics in $d = 4$. Surprisingly, the Plebanski-type theories are fixed points of the classical ${T\overline{T}}$-like flows, while the Born-Infeld-type examples satisfy new flow equations driven by relevant operators constructed from the stress tensor. Finally, we prove that any theory obtained from a classical stress-tensor-squared deformation of a conformal field theory gives rise to a related ``subtracted'' theory for which the stress-tensor-squared operator is a constant., Comment: 64 pages; v3: comments and references added

We provide a unified description of the three covariant superspace approaches to ${\cal N}=2$ conformal supergravity in four dimensions: (i) conformal superspace; (ii) $\mathsf{U}(2)$ superspace; and (iii) $\mathsf{SU}(2)$ superspace. Each of them can be used to formulate general supergravity-matter systems, although conformal superspace has the largest structure group and is intimately related to the superconformal tensor calculus. We review the structure of covariant projective multiplets and demonstrate how they are used to describe pure and matter-coupled supergravity, including locally superconformal off-shell sigma models. Higher-derivative invariants, topological invariants and super-Weyl anomalies are also briefly discussed., Comment: 59 pages. Invited chapter for the "Handbook of Quantum Gravity" (Eds. C. Bambi, L. Modesto and I.L. Shapiro, Springer, expected in 2023); V2: comments and reference added

The superspace formalism for $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity in four dimensions is a powerful geometric setting to engineer off-shell supergravity-matter theories, including higher-derivative couplings. This review provides a unified description of the three superspace approaches to $\mathcal{N}=1$ conformal supergravity: (i) conformal superspace; (ii) $\mathsf{U}(1)$ superspace; and (iii) the Grimm-Wess-Zumino formalism. The prepotential formulation for the latter is discussed. We briefly describe the known off-shell formulations for Poincar\'e and anti-de Sitter supergravity theories as conformal supergravity coupled to certain compensators. As simple applications of the formalism, we present the superfield equations of motion for various off-shell formulations for pure Poincar\'e and anti-de Sitter supergravity, and show that every solution of these equations is also a solution of the equations of motion for conformal supergravity., Comment: 48 pages. Invited chapter for the "Handbook of Quantum Gravity" (Eds. C. Bambi, L. Modesto and I.L. Shapiro, Springer, expected in 2023)

By extending the recent analysis of arXiv:2203.12203 for ${\mathcal{N}}=2$ conformal supergravity in four dimensions, we define new hyper-dilaton Weyl multiplets for five-dimensional ${\mathcal{N}}=1$, and six-dimensional ${\mathcal{N}}=(1,0)$ conformal supergravities. These are constructed by coupling the five- and six-dimensional standard Weyl multiplets to on-shell hypermultiplets and reinterpreting the systems as new multiplets of conformal supergravity. In the five-dimensional case, we also construct a new hyper-dilaton Poincar\'e supergravity by coupling to an off-shell vector multiplet compensator. As in four dimensions, a $BF$-coupling induces a non-trivial scalar potential for the five-dimensional dilaton that admits AdS$_5$ vacua., Comment: 56 pages; v2: minor corrections, version published in PRD

We develop a general formalism to study the three-point correlation functions of conserved higher-spin supercurrent multiplets $J_{\alpha(r) \dot{\alpha}(r)}$ in 4D ${\cal N}=1$ superconformal theory. All the constraints imposed by ${\cal N}=1$ superconformal symmetry on the three-point function $\langle J_{\alpha(r_1) \dot{\alpha}(r_1)} J_{\beta(r_2) \dot{\beta}(r_2) }J_{\gamma(r_3) \dot{\gamma}(r_3)}\rangle$ are systematically derived for arbitrary $r_1, r_2, r_3$, thus reducing the problem mostly to computational and combinatorial. As an illustrative example, we explicitly work out the allowed tensor structures contained in $\langle J_{\alpha(r) \dot{\alpha}(r)} J_{\beta \dot{\beta} } J_{\gamma \dot{\gamma}}\rangle$, where $J_{\alpha \dot{\alpha}}$ is the supercurrent. We find that this three-point function depends on two independent tensor structures, though the precise form of the correlator depends on whether $r$ is even or odd. The case $r=1$ reproduces the three-point function of the ordinary supercurrent derived by Osborn. Additionally, we present the most general structure of mixed correlators of the form $\langle L L J_{\alpha(r) \dot{\alpha}(r)}\rangle$ and $\langle J_{\alpha(r_1) \dot{\alpha}(r_1)} J_{\beta(r_2) \dot{\beta}(r_2)} L \rangle$, where $L$ is the flavour current multiplet., Comment: 51 pages; v2: references added

In this letter we introduce a one-parameter deformation of two-dimensional quantum field theories generated by a non-analytic operator which we call Root-$T \overline{T}$. For a conformal field theory, the operator coincides with the square-root of the $T \overline{T}$ operator. More generally, the operator is defined so that classically it is marginal and generates a flow which commutes with the $T \overline{T}$-flow. Intriguingly, the Root-$T \overline{T}$ flow is closely related to the ModMax theory recently constructed by Bandos, Lechner, Sorokin and Townsend., Comment: 6 pages; LaTeX; references and note added

We define a new dilaton Weyl multiplet of ${\mathcal{N}}=2$ conformal supergravity in four dimensions. This is constructed by reinterpreting the equations of motion of an on-shell hypermultiplet as constraints that render some of the fields of the standard Weyl multiplet composite. The independent bosonic components include four scalar fields and a triplet of gauge two-forms. The resulting, so-called, hyper-dilaton Weyl multiplet defines a $24+24$ off-shell representation of the local ${\mathcal{N}}=2$ superconformal algebra. By coupling the hyper-dilaton Weyl multiplet to an off-shell vector multiplet compensator, we obtain one of the two minimal $32+32$ off-shell multiplets of ${\mathcal{N}}=2$ Poincar\'e supergravity constructed by M\"uller in 1986. On-shell, this contains the minimal ${\mathcal{N}}=2$ Poincar\'e supergravity multiplet together with a hypermultiplet where one of its physical scalars plays the role of a dilaton, while its three other scalars are dualised to a triplet of real gauge two-forms. Interestingly, a $BF$-coupling induces a scalar potential for the dilaton without a standard gauging., Comment: v3: typo corrected in eq. (2.33)

We show that the recently introduced ModMax theory of electrodynamics and its Born-Infeld-like generalization are related by a flow equation driven by a quadratic combination of stress-energy tensors. The operator associated to this flow is a $4d$ analogue of the $T\bar{T}$ deformation in two dimensions. This result generalizes the observation that the ordinary Born-Infeld Lagrangian is related to the free Maxwell theory by a current-squared flow. As in that case, we show that no analogous relationship holds in any other dimension besides $d=4$. We also demonstrate that the $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric version of the ModMax-Born-Infeld theory obeys a related supercurrent-squared flow which is formulated directly in $\mathcal{N}=1$ superspace., Comment: 47 pages

We propose supertwistor realisations of $(p,q)$ anti-de Sitter (AdS) superspaces in three dimensions and $\cal N$-extended AdS superspaces in four dimensions. For each superspace, we identify a two-point function that is invariant under the corresponding isometry supergroup. This two-point function is a supersymmetric extension (of a function) of the geodesic distance. We also describe a bi-supertwistor formulation for $\cal N$-extended AdS superspace in four dimensions and harmonic/projective extensions of $(p,q)$ AdS superspaces in three dimensions., Comment: 21 pages

General $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ supergravity-matter systems in six dimensions may be described using one of the two fully fledged superspace formulations for conformal supergravity: (i) $\mathsf{SU}(2)$ superspace; and (ii) conformal superspace. With motivation to develop rigid supersymmetric field theories in curved space, this paper is devoted to the study of the geometric symmetries of supergravity backgrounds. In particular, we introduce the notion of a conformal Killing spinor superfield $\epsilon^\alpha$, which proves to generate extended superconformal transformations. Among its cousins are the conformal Killing vector $\xi^a$ and tensor $\zeta^{a(n)}$ superfields. The former parametrise conformal isometries of supergravity backgrounds, which in turn yield symmetries of every superconformal field theory. Meanwhile, the conformal Killing tensors of a given background are associated with higher symmetries of the hypermultiplet. By studying the higher symmetries of a non-conformal vector multiplet we introduce the concept of a Killing tensor superfield. We also analyse the problem of computing higher symmetries for the conformal d'Alembertian in curved space and demonstrate that, beyond the first-order case, these operators are defined only on conformally flat backgrounds., Comment: 62 pages

A necessary condition for partial breaking of N=2 global supersymmetry is the presence of nonlinear deformations of the field transformations which cannot be generated by background values of auxiliary fields. This work studies the simplest of these deformations which already occurs in N=1 global supersymmetry, and its coupling to supergravity. It can be viewed as an imaginary constant shift of the D-auxiliary real field of an abelian gauge multiplet. We show how this deformation describes the magnetic dual of a Fayet-Iliopoulos term, a result that remains valid in supergravity, using its new-minimal formulation. Local supersymmetry and the deformation induce a positive cosmological constant. Moreover, the deformed U(1) Maxwell theory coupled to supergravity describes upon elimination of the auxiliary fields the gauging of R-symmetry, realised by the Freedman model of 1976. To this end, we construct the chiral spinor multiplet in superconformal tensor calculus by working out explicitly its transformation rules and use it for an alternative description of the new-minimal supergravity coupled to a U(1) multiplet. We also discuss the deformed Maxwell theory in curved superspace., Comment: 33 pages

We explore the $J\bar{T}$ and $T\bar{J}$ deformations of two-dimensional field theories possessing $\mathcal N=(0,1),(1,1)$ and $(0,2)$ supersymmetry. Based on the stress-tensor and flavor current multiplets, we construct various bilinear supersymmetric primary operators that induce the $J\bar{T}/T\bar{J}$ deformation in a manifestly supersymmetric way. Moreover, their supersymmetric descendants are shown to agree with the conventional $J\bar T /T\bar J$ operator on-shell. We also present some examples of $J\bar T /T\bar J$ flows arising from the supersymmetric deformation of free theories. Finally, we observe that all the deformation operators fit into a general pattern which generalizes the Smirnov-Zamolodchikov type composite operators., Comment: 47 pages

The $T\bar{T}$ deformation of a supersymmetric two-dimensional theory preserves the original supersymmetry. Moreover, in several interesting cases the deformed theory possesses additional non-linearly realized supersymmetries. We show this for certain $\mathcal N =(2,2)$ models in two dimensions, where we observe an intriguing similarity with known $\mathcal N=1 $ models in four dimensions. This suggests that higher-dimensional models with non-linearly realized supersymmetries might also be obtained from $T\bar{T}$-like flow equations. We show that in four dimensions this is indeed the case for $\mathcal N=1 $ Born-Infeld theory, as well as for the Goldstino action for spontaneously broken $\mathcal N=1 $ supersymmetry., Comment: 43 pages

We construct a solvable deformation of two-dimensional theories with $(2,2)$ supersymmetry using an irrelevant operator which is a bilinear in the supercurrents. This supercurrent-squared operator is manifestly supersymmetric, and equivalent to $T\bar{T}$ after using conservation laws. As illustrative examples, we deform theories involving a single $(2,2)$ chiral superfield. We show that the deformed free theory is on-shell equivalent to the $(2,2)$ Nambu-Goto action. At the classical level, models with a superpotential exhibit more surprising behavior: the deformed theory exhibits poles in the physical potential which modify the vacuum structure. This suggests that irrelevant deformations of $T\overline{T}$ type might also affect infrared physics., Comment: 39 pages

We present a new type of Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) terms in ${\mathcal N}=2$ supergravity that do not require the gauging of the $R$-symmetry. We elaborate on the impact of such terms on the vacuum structure of the ${\mathcal N}=2$ theory and compare their properties with the standard Fayet-Iliopoulos terms that arise from gaugings. In particular, we show that, with the use of the new FI terms, models with a single physical ${\mathcal N}=2$ vector multiplet can be constructed that give stable de Sitter vacua., Comment: 50 pages

We study fermionic bulk fields in the dS/CFT dualities relating ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Euclidean vector models with reversed spin-statistics in three dimensions to supersymmetric Vasiliev theories in four-dimensional de Sitter space. These dualities specify the Hartle - Hawking wave function in terms of the partition function of deformations of the vector models. We evaluate this wave function in homogeneous minisuperspace models consisting of supersymmetry-breaking combinations of a half-integer spin field with either a scalar, a pseudoscalar or a metric squashing. The wave function appears to be well-behaved and globally peaked at or near the supersymmetric de Sitter vacuum, with a low amplitude for large deformations. Its behavior in the semiclassical limit qualitatively agrees with earlier bulk computations both for massless and massive fermionic fields., Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures v2: minor modifications, appendix added, version published in JHEP

We investigate the behaviour of two-dimensional quantum field theories with $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ supersymmetry under a deformation induced by the `$T\bar{T}$' composite operator. We show that the deforming operator can be defined by a point-splitting regularisation in such a way as to preserve $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ supersymmetry. As an example of this construction, we work out the deformation of a free $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ theory and compare to that induced by the Noether stress-energy tensor. Finally, we show that the $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ supersymmetric deformed action actually possesses $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ symmetry, half of which is non-linearly realised.

We investigate the "$T\bar{T}$" deformations of two-dimensional supersymmetric quantum field theories. More precisely, we show that, by using the conservation equations for the supercurrent multiplet, the $T\bar{T}$ deforming operator can be constructed as a supersymmetric descendant. Here we focus on $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ and $\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ supersymmetry. As an example, we analyse in detail the $T\bar{T}$ deformation of a free $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ supersymmetric action. We also argue that the link between $T\bar{T}$ and string theory can be extended to superstrings: by analysing the light-cone gauge fixing for superstrings in flat space, we show the correspondence of the string action to the $T\bar{T}$ deformation of a free theory of eight $\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ scalar multiplets on the nose. We comment on how these constructions relate to the geometrical interpretations of $T\bar{T}$ deformations that have recently been discussed in the literature., Comment: V3: comments, references, and a new subsection 2.5 added; version to appear in JHEP; 29 pages

We describe the supersymmetric completion of several curvature-squared invariants for ${\cal N}=(1,0)$ supergravity in six dimensions. The construction of the invariants is based on a close interplay between superconformal tensor calculus and recently developed superspace techniques to study general off-shell supergravity-matter couplings. In the case of minimal off-shell Poincar\'e supergravity based on the dilaton-Weyl multiplet coupled to a linear multiplet as a conformal compensator, we describe off-shell supersymmetric completions for all the three possible purely gravitational curvature-squared terms in six dimensions: Riemann, Ricci, and scalar curvature squared. A linear combination of these invariants describes the off-shell completion of the Gauss-Bonnet term, recently presented in arXiv:1706.09330. We study properties of the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet supergravity, which plays a central role in the effective low-energy description of $\alpha^\prime$-corrected string theory compactified to six dimensions, including a detailed analysis of the spectrum about the ${\rm AdS}_3\times {\rm S}^3$ solution. We also present a novel locally superconformal invariant based on a higher-derivative action for the linear multiplet. This invariant, which includes gravitational curvature-squared terms, can be defined both coupled to the standard-Weyl or dilaton-Weyl multiplet for conformal supergravity. In the first case, we show how the addition of this invariant to the supersymmetric Einstein-Hilbert term leads to a dynamically generated cosmological constant and non-supersymmetric (A)dS$_6$ solutions. In the dilaton-Weyl multiplet, the new off-shell invariant includes Ricci and scalar curvature-squared terms and possesses a nontrivial dependence on the dilaton field., Comment: V3: 70 pages, 2 tables; added comments and references; version published in JHEP

We study partial supersymmetry breaking from ${\cal N}=2$ to ${\cal N}=1$ by adding non-linear terms to the ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetry transformations. By exploiting the necessary existence of a deformed supersymmetry algebra for partial breaking to occur, we systematically use ${\cal N}=2$ projective superspace with central charges to provide a streamlined setup. For deformed ${\cal O}(2)$ and ${\cal O}(4)$ hypermultiplets, besides reproducing known results, we describe new models exhibiting partial supersymmetry breaking with and without higher-derivative interactions., Comment: 49 pages, v2

We develop off-shell formulations for ${\cal N}=1$ and ${\cal N}=2$ anti-de Sitter supergravity theories in three spacetime dimensions that contain gauge two-forms in the auxiliary field sector. These formulations are shown to allow consistent couplings of supergravity to the Green-Schwarz superstring with ${\cal N}=1$ or ${\cal N}=2$ spacetime supersymmetry. In addition to being $\kappa$-symmetric, the Green-Schwarz superstring actions constructed are also invariant under super-Weyl transformations of the target space. We also present a detailed study of models for spontaneously broken local supersymmetry in three dimensions obtained by coupling the known off-shell ${\cal N}=1$ and ${\cal N}=2$ supergravity theories to nilpotent Goldstino superfields., Comment: 63 pages; V2: minor corrections

There exist two variants of the old minimal formulation for ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity in four dimensions, in which one or each of the two auxiliary scalars is replaced by the field strength of a gauge three-form. These theories are known as three-form supergravity and complex three-form supergravity, respectively. For each of them, we present a super-Weyl invariant coupling of supergravity to the supermembrane and prove kappa-invariance of the resulting action. In the case of three-form supergravity, we demonstrate that the action constructed reduces to that given by Ovrut and Waldram twenty years ago upon imposing a super-Weyl gauge in which the compensating three-form superfield is set to a constant., Comment: 22 pages

We put forward new explicit realisations of dS/CFT that relate ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Euclidean vector models with reversed spin-statistics in three dimensions to specific supersymmetric Vasiliev theories in four-dimensional de Sitter space. The partition function of the free supersymmetric vector model deformed by a range of low spin deformations that preserve supersymmetry appears to specify a well-defined wave function with asymptotic de Sitter boundary conditions in the bulk. In particular we find the wave function is globally peaked at undeformed de Sitter space, with a low amplitude for strong deformations. This suggests that supersymmetric de Sitter space is stable in higher-spin gravity and in particular free from ghosts. We speculate this is a limiting case of the de Sitter realizations in exotic string theories., Comment: V2: references and comments added, typos corrected, version published in JHEP; 27 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

We propose new off-shell models for spontaneously broken local ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetry, in which the supergravity multiplet couples to nilpotent Goldstino superfields that contain either a gauge one-form or a gauge two-form in addition to spin-1/2 Goldstone fermions and auxiliary fields. In the case of ${\cal N}=2$ Poincar\'e supersymmetry, we elaborate on the concept of twisted chiral superfields and present a nilpotent ${\cal N}=2$ superfield that underlies the cubic nilpotency conditions given in arXiv:1707.03414 in terms of constrained ${\cal N}=1$ superfields., Comment: 20 pages; V3: typos corrected